nourgelitnius:

I would have to say that based on the way Leviathan Wakes and the first season and a half were written/filmed, and the rundowns given in those posts, they do not. Or at least, they don’t fit the trope enough for me to say that they fit it. The problem for me is that they are separated for the vast majority of the narrative and we have very little canon interaction between the two, and none of it, aside from Miller promising that whatever comes next will happen to both of them, feels like it fits. 

The K+LH trope is, to me and most everything I have read, based on a constant interaction, an ebb and flow between the King and their Lionheart. Actions taken by the King character backed up and supported by the Lion Heart. A two-way emotional connection between the two that is sometimes, but not always, romantic. The trope revolves around the two of them together, rather than the actions of the one. 

Maybe, if we’d been given a different story where Julie was alive and interacting with Miller the whole time, it’s the trope we would have gotten. However, I am more likely to put them, either in canon or in a story where we got to see Julie alive, into the Lady and Her Knight trope. 

Now, I have had several conversations with others talking about how much Miller’s devotion to Julie mirrors that of the Lady and Knight, but sadly I would have to spend a couple hours going back through conversations to find what my conversation partners have said as, sadly, I was not the first one to think of them like this and the others have a much firmer grasp on the concept than I. But looking at the trope it’self, we can get some pretty clear imagery to help back it up.

First, let’s take make a list of some of the points the trope entails, then take a deeper look at them and how they apply to Miller and Julie.

• The Knight views the Lady as a force of goodness
• The Knight will start acting good because of his lady.
• The Knight will make a pledge to the Lady serve her above all else, even country 
• The Lady will often defer to their Knight, trusting their judgment
• The Lady and Knight trope is also a vessel of the Courtly Love trope.

These are just the ones that came to my mind going through the trope article on TV Tropes. I’m sure those more familiar with the trope and it’s historical/literary context could find even more.

Force of Goodness

One of the main themes in LW is that Miller wasn’t as good as he thought he was. He was a product of the system that raised him. Taking bribes, throwing people out of airlocks, etc. Through the story and as he’s looking for Julie, he starts to realize how selfless and good she was. At least compared to the type of people he was used to seeing. Through this, a sort of mirror is held in front of him and he sees the truth of himself. Through her he realizes he needs to do better. Which ties in with…

…Acting Good

At the beginning of his story, Miller is separated from the Belter’s because he is a tool of the Star Helix, a company with an Earther at their back. Only through his investigation of Julie does he start to sympathize on any real level with the rest of his people. He starts to become more Belter than he ever has in his life. And within the context of his story, within the context of Miller, that is good. He’s stopped doing what he was told because of who gave him his credits and started worrying about his people. About people as a whole.

The Pledge

The pledge happens long before the pledge happens if that makes sense. Around the time he’s taken off the case, he decides she’s the most important thing. There is the fact that he knows she’s in the middle of all the shit that’s been kicked up, and I think that at this point, he tells himself that’s why he’s trying to find her. At this point, he’s still uncomfortable with the idea that he might have fallen in love with her, but by the time he leaves Ceres, he’s in full on Julie mode. He’s decided she’s worth more than his job, which he’s been fired from anyway, more than his life on that rock, more than anything else he could possibly come across. 

But the real pledge, when it happens, is just as visually important as it is emotionally important. 

One of my favorite parts in both the book and the show is when Miller has found Julie, woken her up, and is talking with her. This is the point in which I always start crying heavily because I am a big baby. But seeing it on screen? 

In the Lady and Knight trope, the pledge always comes on bended knee as he kisses her hand. While Miller isn’t technically kneeling in this scene, it still reflects the same imagery. This is the moment when he decides no matter what happens to her, it happens to him as well. Her fate is his fate, and she matters above all else. He’s kind to her without lying to her. He makes sure her emotional needs are taken care of.

Deferment

This one is more of a technicality, but to me, it’s important.

After Julie wakes up, Miller starts to tell her the truth of what is happening and what needs to happen. We know that Julie is headstrong, but in this instance, she defers to him, trusting that what he says is true and his plan is for the best. 

Now, someone could make the argument that she is scared and has no choice but to trust him, and while I don’t doubt Julie was scared, we are never given the slightest indication that she wouldn’t be contradicting him if she had a different idea, scared or not. She could have decided against him, but didn’t.

Courtly Love

I’ll just let this speak for it’self. Emphasis added by me.

Courtly Love is having a romantic affair without ever imagining it will be consummated. The man in question will be in love with his lady — who is normally his social superior — do almost anything for her and in her name. She may love the fella back, if he’s fortunate — though that’s not expected, and not really the point. (x)

This here is the essence of Miller’s feelings for Julie and why, even if people don’t ship them, I will for the rest of my days. 

Like I stated above, they do not fit the K+LH trope enough for me based on the interaction and storyline we were given, but I can see how, especially with how well they fit the Lady and Knight trope, large parts of the K+LH trope could fall in with their story had we been given more of it. And, depending on how you look at it, you might find more in their story to fit than I did. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an Of Monsters and Men song to go listen to….